CHICAGO (WAND) - A new initiative was announced to invest $12 million to support investment in the state's Opportunity Zones.
Opportunity Zones are defined as distressed or economically underserved areas.
Illinois designated 327 Opportunity Zones in 2018, and a map of the state’s zones can be found here.
The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity will be issuing a competitive notice of funding opportunity soon.
Governor Pritzker announced the program at an event to announce a commitment by Fifth Third Bank and the Chicago-based Decennial Group to invest nearly $15 million in Illinois’ opportunity zones.
“Supporting equitable economic growth is one of the central goals of our historic $45 billion capital plan," said Gov. Pritzker. "By investing $12 million in Rebuild Illinois funds in Opportunity Zone projects, we can take advantage of this federal tax incentive to stretch our capital dollars further while creating jobs and opportunity in communities that have suffered from a lack of investment for decades."
Communities, nonprofits, developers, and other stakeholders will be invited to compete for $12 million in capital grants to support projects in Opportunity Zones.
The grants will offer matching funds for, "infrastructure, utility, remediation and other site preparedness related costs for affordable housing, community development, and commercial real estate projects that will create jobs and growth," officials said. Once the NOFO is posted, there will be 90 days to prepare and submit grant applications.
“The Pritzker administration’s Five-Year Economic Plan is focused on catalyzing fair and equitable economic growth that lifts up communities across Illinois,” said DCEO Director Erin Guthrie. “Pairing our Rebuild Illinois capital dollars with the incentives offered by federal Opportunity Zones allows us to achieve greater impact in underserved and economically distressed areas.”
When considering grant applicants, DCEO will look at criteria such as job creation, community support, project readiness and viability, the availability of matching financing, alignment of the project with the Governor’s 5-Year Economic Plan, and ability of the project to have a positive economic impact in communities of need.
